Hilldale, Utah and Federal Crime

Hilldale, Utah: The sentence for rape in the state of Utah is five years to life. In Hilldale, a small town of about 2,000, these numbers might be good to keep in mine. In a place where sites like 2Wives.com are easy to find, and polygamy is commonplace, things are getting even hotter than usual in this southwest locale. Hilldale is one of the two cities in the US known to be a headquarters for the Fundamentalist Church of Mormon, a splinter off of the official Mormons, that was established in 1890, when the original church decided that Joseph Smith was less powerful than the US Feds, and banned polygamy.

Some places just didn't agree with that decision. They still don't...120 years later.

The man pictured to the right is Warren Jeffs or the current "prophet" of the FCM. He is a man in trouble. According to CourtTVNews:

Warren Jeffs, the polygamist leader captured this week after four months on the FBI's Most Wanted list, will face charges of arranging the marriages of underage girls first in Utah and then in Arizona, federal and state officials agreed Wednesday morning.
The decision on venue is an effort by prosecutors to prevent Jeffs, set to make his first court appearance here Thursday morning, from posting bail and returning to the life of a fugitive, authorities said.
The charges awaiting Jeffs in Washington County, Utah, two counts of rape as an accomplice, carry significantly more prison time than the statutory rape and conspiracy charges he faces in Mohave County, Ariz.
"We have more serious charges here in Washington County and flowing from that is an opportunity to have a higher bail amount and make it less likely he would get bail," said Brock Belnap, the county attorney in St. George.

According to the piece, the Church has about 10,000 members based in Hilldale and Colorado City, Arizona. Jeffs, playing the "matchmaker" in the case, compelled a younger girl of 16 to marry an older man (of 28). The man forced her to have sex with her, allegedly saying, "If you do (leave the marriage), you'll lose your salvation."

The following is from the testimony of Candi Shapley:

Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith: Could you tell the grand jury just a little bit about some of the things you were taught from your parents and also through the school system as far as how they women are supposed to be and what types of jobs they should seek in life and what type of education they should get?
Candi Shapley: We're not really taught that much about education. We're taught that we're supposed to be good mothers, grow up and get married and our whole — we were taught that we're here to bring children onto the earth and raise them as sweet as possible.
...
Shapley testified that she grew up living with her father, his six wives and some of her 56 siblings in a house with 20 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. In March 2002, he told her Jeffs had chosen a husband for her and she would be married the next day.

The case is just getting started, and according to Court TV, Miss Shapley recently changed her mind about testifying against Jeffs.